Prison Workers Accused of Sex with Inmates

(Canton, New York) Three suspended female workers at the Gouverneur Correctional Facility, a medium-security state prison, were charged last fall with engaging in sex with inmates.

(1) Forty-one-year-old prison laundry supervisor Lisa Vaughn pleaded guilty in St. Lawrence County Court to felony third-degree rape and sentenced to 60 days in jail --- to be served on weekends. She also received 10 years of probation.

She was accused of sexual intercourse and oral sex with four inmates repeatedly since 2006. She was also accused of sneaking food, cigarettes and postage stamps to inmates.

Vaughn's lawyer said she was a victim of coercion by the inmates.

(2) A clerk at the prison, 39-year-old Laura E. Douglass, was indicted last month on charges of third-degree rape, third-degree criminal sexual act, first-degree promoting prison contraband and two counts of official misconduct.

She is accused of having sex with a 31-year-old male inmate in December. She also allegedly provided a knife to an inmate in 2008.

Douglass pleaded innocent to the charges this past Monday.

(3) The third worker, 33-year-old Rachael S. Patterson, also faces charges of engaging in sex with inmates. Her case is pending and scant details have been reported.